Month: June 2015

The Warriors and restricted free agent Draymond Green will meet Tuesday evening, as reported by Yahoo! Sports’ Marc Spears. And both sides, according to multiple sources, are hoping to agree to a contract and keep the stud forward from hitting the free agent market.

The meeting is scheduled for 9:01 p.m. because free agency doesn’t begin until midnight Eastern time on July 1. Green is giving the Warriors the first crack and the Warriors are hoping to get the best deal they can. The expectation is that Green and the Warriors will reach an agreement tomorrow and nix the chance of him going to another team.

According to one of the sources with knowledge of Green’s plans, he loves the franchise, his teammates and the area too much to leave. Life after a championship only confirmed to him how much he wanted to stay. He is even willing to take less than the maximum to keep the core together long term.

Green, who was on the books for $915,242 this past season, can get a contract starting at $15.8 million next season. The Warriors expect another team would sign Green to a maximum offer sheet starting at that amount if he hits the free agent market. The Detroit Pistons have long been rumored to be a strong pursuer of the Michigan native.

Still, the Warriors can offer Green the most money. They can give him a five year contract worth $90,67 million (a number I feel a lot better about posting since Daniel Leroux of Real GM came up with the same number!)

The most he could get from another team, per the collective bargaining agreement, is four years, $67.3 million. The CBA only allows the incumbent team to go up to five years. And new teams can only offer 4.5 percent raises, instead of the 7.5 percent the Warriors can offer.

Since the Warriors are headed for the luxury tax, which would be the first time in franchise history, every penny Green gives back helps the Warriors. Any deal starting below $15.8 lowers the tax bill for CEO Joe Lacob. Even better, it helps the teams option to get under the luxury tax line by the February trade deadline. They have more than $20 million in expiring contracts (David Lee, Marreese Speights and Brandon Rush) they can dump. But it will be close and Green’s first-year number being even slightly lower helps that effort.

Green is going to get a big payday either way. He’s made just $2.6 million over his three-year career, emerging from a second-round draft pick to NBA first team All-Defense. But those closest to him said he isn’t as concerned with milking every penny he can get as he is winning.

One, it didn’t include a ridiculous kick-in of taxpayer money. Which means that despite being widely regarded as ineffective, officials from the City of Oakland and Alameda County aren’t getting back in the business of subsidizing sports teams. That’s a win.

Two, the beloved Oakland Athletics were an afterthought in the propsal. Why is that good? Because some hardball with A’s ownership is long overdue and hopefully it forces the group to sell. And Warriors CEO Joe Lacob is still waiting for the chance to buy the A’s and build a ballpark in Oakland.

The proposal by Floyd Kephart — the San Diego real estate guru tasked with converting the Coliseum City vision from fantasy to reality — is definitely worthy of criticism.

It was self-serving in that it made sure his company reaped plenty benefits, including stake in the Raiders. It was audacious in that it didn’t even pretend to do anything but lay the risk at the feet of the team. It was incomplete in that it still didn’t spell out where the full $1 billion-plus was coming from and, as comically pointed out by NewBallPark.org, dedicated one whole line to the A’s.

But this is just desserts for both the Raiders and A’s. Both the Raiders and A’s are waiting for a municipality to make their stadium happen. The proposal underscores the reality that businessmen should be making big business arrangements such as these, not politicians.

It’s 2015. This is the Bay Area. The tradition of private businesses booming on the backs of taxpayers has been under attack for years.

One team (Raiders) doesn’t have the money to build its own stadium and needs the city to come up with at least a half a billion. The other team (A’s) has the money but doesn’t want to spend it and really doesn’t want to be here. Yet both making demands like they’re paying.

The Raiders, who belong to a league that could fund the stadium with one month of profits, want the current stadium leveled immediately. The A’s want a ballpark surrounded by surface parking instead of housing and shops.

The Warriors are smart to use the pick to draft a player. This draft is deep, full of players who could turn out to be quality, productive players. It’s unlikely they nab a star. But the Warriors need cheap, supporting cast players for the immediate and long-term future and this is one way to get them.

There are so many possibles out there for the Warriors. Too many for the Warriors to just give the pic

The dream scenario would involve a shooter falling to them. What if Virginia’s Justin Anderson or Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter or UNLV’s Rashad Vaughn falls to the Warriors? Imagine if they ended up with Utah’s Delon Wright.

As it is, they will likely have their pick of Stanford’s Anthony Brown, Oregon’s Joseph Young, Texas’ Jonathan Holmes, Central Washington’s Tyler Harvey. Not bad choices for No. 30 overall.

By now, you’ve probably seen David Lee putting me on blast. I appreciate him remembering I was there from the beginning of his tenure. I remember breaking the story that the Warriors were trying to trade for him.

I honestly was happy for Lee. I remember the effort he put into building team chemistry and trying to help the Warriors turn it around. He didn’t play that much this year, and rightfully so. But he earned this.

Also really happy for Shaun Livingston. He is a really humble guy. He doesn’t like talking about himself, on or off the record. He is very low key and thoughtful. To get to this point, after all he’s been through, and come up big in The Finals has to be huge.

Enough of the special shout outs. Some notes and observations about The Finals before the season-ending media sessions with Bob Myers and Steve Kerr …

You think LeBron was tired …

After Game 5, I woke up at 8 a.m. to write my column on the toughness of Draymond Green, which he followed with a triple-double. I had to finish my column before my flight.

And 53 hours later, I was finally back home. Thanks to travel drama and work, I arrived back in my Oakland abode having logged 6 hours of sleep. All of them coming on airplanes.

I agreed with the switch to the 2-2-1-1-1 format for The Finals. But now I see the merits of 2-3-2.

If my dad were still with us, I’d have spent the final minute or so of Game 6 on the phone with him. Deadline would’ve had to wait.

I’d want to hear his reaction as the final seconds ticked away, as Stephen Curry hoisted the ball into the air of Quicken Loans Arena, as the Warriors officially became champions.

Many Warriors fans didn’t think they would see this day. My father didn’t.

He died two days after the Warriors wrapped up the embarrassing 2000-01 season with their 13th straight loss. They finished 17-65 that year and one of our last conversations was about how Vonteego Cummings had to go and maybe Antawn Jamison was salvageable.

What the Warriors accomplished Tuesday seemed impossible back then. We didn’t plot how to win a championship. We just wanted them to stop blowing games in the fourth quarter.

These Warriors are so far from that. They handle business down the stretch. They rise to challenges. They are marked by a toughness and resilience.

They didn’t choke against the undermanned Cavaliers. They closed their third series of these playoffs on the road. They got better as the pressure mounted. They made the nerves and doubt inherent in Warriors fans look foolish in hindsight.

CLEVELAND — Andre Iguodala is a basketball junkie. He’s been a loyal follower of the NBA since before he had calf muscles. And when asked about where these Warriors, champions of the NBA, rank among the great teams in history, he had to keep it real.

“I’m supposed to say we’re the best ever,” he said. “But I’m a hoop head so I have to keep it real. We could compete with Michael Jordan’s teams. We aren’t better than them. They were a little bit older and wiser. But we’re up there though. I’d put us in the mix.”

He couldn’t help but shake his head and smile after uttering those words. Because he believed him. And he was right.

The Warriors finished off the Cavaliers in Game 6, 105-97, to punctuate their historic season by claiming the Larry O’Brien Trophy. And in doing so the Warriors confirmed themselves as one of the best teams in NBA history. It’s such a rarity for a team to be as complete and deep as these Warriors.

They dominated the regular season with one of the best campaigns in history. They marched through the Western Conference, losing just three games in the process. And they did it because comprehensively, they were just too good.

In hindsight, it makes perfect sense. Of course they shifted gears and put away the Cavaliers, who were down two starters and leaning heavily on LeBron. These Warriors were just too much. Beating them four times just wasn’t going to happen.

In Draymond Green’s mind, he was ready. The difference in size didn’t foster an ounce of doubt. So he was always calling “next.”

But the big boys at the Civitan Recreation Center, in his hometown ofSaginaw, Michigan, weren’t about to give up a precious spot to a youngster.

“He was that kid that, when the older kids were on the court, he was always trying to get out there with us,” said Arizona Cardinals linebacker LaMarr Woodley, one of the big kids at Civitan back then. “And when we would kick him off the court, he’d want to fight. But it was like, ‘C’mon little guy. Don’t nobody wanna fight you.’ ”

Even back then, you just weren’t going to punk Green.

He wouldn’t let it go. He kept talking trash, calling them out for being scared to let him play. When the new game started, he’d stand on the court and dare someone to make him get off.

“They would get so upset with him,” said his mom, Mary Babers-Green. “When he called his ‘next’ he wanted his ‘next.’ But he was too little to get ‘next.’ So they would try to stop him from playing. They would put him in the trashcan, put him on the rim. I would have to come and turn the recreation center out.”

It’s not just that Green isn’t afraid to play with the big boys. He prefers it. He thirsts for the challenge, like playing against guys his size isn’t fun enough. And that spirit has pushed the Warriors to the brink of an NBA title.

CLEVELAND — Andre Iguodala drove the lane and was whacked across the arm by LeBron James.

The Warriors’ swingman immediately grabbed his forearm, writhing in pain. Just when it seemed he was badly hurt, Iguodala smiled. Just kidding.

What was that about? Andre being Andre.

“It was just a perfect opportunity to relax and enjoy the moment,” he explained.

Yes, it was a critical Game 4, the NBA title on the line. Yes, the Warriors’ once-12-point lead was down to four. Yes, the nation was already gripping the pen, ready to write off the Warriors.

But the Warriors rolled the Cavaliers, 103-82, snatching control back in the NBA Finals, because Andre got to be Andre. He was fully unleashed and the whole package of him — his experience, his intelligence, his athleticism, his humor — made all the difference in the world.

CLEVELAND — The Warriors should be in control of the series. Cleveland should be the one searching for answers entering today’s Game 4.

“If I play to my level, I think we’re up 3-0,” Draymond Green said in an exclusive interview. “But I haven’t. So we’re down 2-1. So it’s on me.”

All season, Green has been a difference maker for the Warriors.

His defense inserted into the starting lineup bolstered even a great defense from last year. His growth on offense — particularly his 3-point shooting and ability to lead the transition game — helped improved the Warriors’ offensive efficiency.

His toughness gave the Warriors another potent lineup for Steve Kerr. His vocal leadership has Kerr deeming him the heartbeat of the Warriors.

That comprehensive impact, though, hasn’t been present in this series. And Green doesn’t shy away from that fact.

In Game 4 of the Warriors series against Memphis, it was an adjustment by the coaching staff that changes the series.

The decision to put Andrew Bogut on Tony Allen did a few things. It highlighted the weakness of Allen, who had been hurting the Warriors. It shifted the pressure on Memphis to make the adjustment (which was to take Allen out). And not for nothing, it emboldened the Warriors. It was a motivating sign that the Warriors’ bench was on top of it and no stone would be left unturned.

The Warriors are going to need another such move from their bench, this time for the offense. Steve Kerr and his staff is going to have to impact this series somehow. Because some of the urgency and life the rookie head coach wants out of his team also needs to be seen in the moves they make.

It is no coincidence the Warriors took off in the fourth quarter when David Lee got some legit action. It was another one of those no-stone-left decisions. Before that, it didn’t seem like the Warriors bench was on top of it. It felt like they didn’t have an answer. Lee was a good response by Kerr. The Warriors scored 36 points in the fourth quarter.

Still, the Warriors managed 90 shots, making 12 3-pointers, and still scored just 91 points. That’s got to change if they want to win this series.

Steph Curry vs. Matthew Dellavedova

The narrative of this series is how Dellavedova has been shutting down Stephen Curry. It’s actually not true. The former St. Mary’s point guard is playing good defense. But the Warriors are bailing him out a lot.